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starpirateee · 6 months

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The price of magic (2)

@holloweaneweek day 7 - happy ending

This is part two of this prompt here

Warnings: none / read on AO3 here

Holloway didn't think she'd ever know the feeling of having her memory stripped from her, no matter the capacity. But, as the light from the candle faded out, she took a breath, seeing it hanging in the air in a fine mist. Her eyes closed for a long second, and she felt something she couldn't identify wash over her mind. It felt like relief, like being released from something that had a hold of her.

By the time she opened her eyes again, the only thought remaining about the night that had transpired was why she was standing in an alleyway next to the old newspaper building, staring at a dumpster.

Maybe she’d seen something on her way home…

Whatever it was, it was gone now. She was alone in this alley.

The next morning was a cold yet inviting Friday. Holloway pushed open the door to her diner, ready to open up for the earliest crowd. She was more than used to this routine by now. It had been the same way as long as she could remember; open up shop early, start working on the batch baking before the bigger groups started arriving, and welcome in the early morning crowd.

One of the first people to arrive was a man who pulled up to the parking lot out front in a beaten up old station wagon. With just a glance, she noticed a large cardboard box in his passenger seat, filled with what looked to her like files, neatly packed into manila envelopes and stacked side-by-side until the box was almost full. She watched him intently as he sauntered in through the front door, neatly closing it behind him.

“You must be the famous Miss Retro, huh?” As he made his way towards her, a charming smile worked its way onto his face. He leaned forwards slightly, his elbows resting against the edge of the countertop. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh really? Nothing bad, I hope?” She hummed, curious. Regulars to the diner were one thing, getting to know and recognise faces as people weaved in and out of the doors on a daily basis. But to find herself in the company of someone new, that was even more exciting.

“Not usually. They say you make one hell of a pie…”

“You'd have to come back a little later for that one, then you can see for yourself if the rumours are true.”

He nodded, as if he was fully planning on holding her to that. “Depends if you can also make a mean coffee,” he answered, all too teasingly.

It was barely six am. He was the first face she'd seen all day, and it was likely the same the other way around. How could he manage to muster this much social energy at this time? She found it more than a little endearing, how cheerful he seemed.

“I think I can do that for you, sure,” she smiled. “How d’you take it?”

“White, please. Hold the sugar.”

Just like her.

Little coincidences like that brightened her day that little bit more. At least his order would be easy to remember if ever she saw him again. She gestured for him to take a seat as she turned around to make his drink, and he slipped onto one of the closest stools.

“Lotta files in that car of yours,” she remarked, making the more obvious of observations in an attempt to strike up a conversation. “What’s the story? Cop? Detective?”

“International super spy,” he answered smoothly. Alarmed, her gaze darted over her shoulder, and she caught his amused expression for a second before he burst out laughing. “No, nothing that interesting, I'm afraid. I'm a social worker.”

“That's exactly what an international super spy would say, too,” she teased as she turned back to the coffee machine.

“... Is it?”

“Everyone needs an alibi!”

“Shit. Well, there goes my cover… gotta think of something else now!”

She laughed. He really was a charmer, wasn't he? It wasn't very often a guy like him came about, and already she found herself absolutely enraptured by him. There was a tiny voice in the back of her head telling her not to get her hopes up, but at the moment, she could barely hear it.

“Well, here's your coffee, agent,” She neatly slipped the mug across the counter, and his awaiting hand wrapped around it slowly. Clearly, when she’d registered the cold that morning, she hadn’t registered just how cold it was. But, the stranger looked instantly relieved to have something to combat the chill.

“You’re a lifesaver,” he mused, staring into the swirls of colour in the mug. “Looks like that storm hit us faster than we thought it would… You know that means we’re probably gonna be snowed in by tomorrow, right?”

“I know,” Holloway frowned, having caught the back end of the morning weather report. “This place is gonna see a huge drop in the next few days, if it’s as bad as people are saying…”

Duke took a sip from the coffee he was holding onto. It was a relieving warmth that ran all the way down his throat, and made the outside chill seem less of a prevalent force. “You really do make a mean coffee… Is that cinnamon?”

“You seemed like the type for a little something extra, and I’m rarely wrong when it comes down to it.” A charming smile graced her face. Regulars, she had no problem with, but this guy was a complete longshot. But he was easy enough. She’d have to remember that one. Just make a coffee that she would order herself.

“You can just… Tell how someone takes their coffee?” He asked, amused.

“Not usually, but you take your order like I do, so I thought that extra little touch would do you a world of good.”

“Mhm, I think you’ve converted me.” He chuckled. At that moment, the door’s bell tinkled, and he absently glanced back towards the couple that had just walked in. Recognising the woman, he raised a hand in greeting, and watched her give a rather enthusiastic wave in return.

Holloway busied herself with taking the first of the batch bakes out of the oven, replacing them with the next lot, and then heading beyond the counter to take the couple’s orders.

In that time, Duke managed to drain the mug of coffee. He really wished he could stay for longer, but he’d only come in for a quick fix before work, and duty really did call. So, not wanting to leave without another world, he grabbed a napkin and scribbled her a note, then paperclipped a $5 to the back because he didn’t think to look for a tip jar amongst the various things on the counter.

In all honesty, she didn’t hear him leave. The morning rush always seemed to come at once, so she couldn’t discern one instance of the door opening from another. All she knew was that he was there one minute, and then gone when she next turned around. While that was rather disappointing, she noticed the scribbled on napkin out of the corner of her eye, and went to go check it out.

Sorry I had to leave on such short notice, business calls. The agency won’t wait for me forever… I could’ve talked to you all day, but I’m pretty sure someone or other would’ve killed me for that. You seem great, though, and I’d love to talk to you again sometime, maybe over the snowstorm?

Think about it, maybe?

-Douglas.

The smooth bastard had even left his number. Holloway chuckled to herself and carefully folded the napkin into her pocket.

–

Somewhere in places unknowable, an old entity watched on from the cosmos. She was doing really well on no memory of who she used to be. Already, she’d met that man, and already they were hitting it off like they’d never forgotten each other.

It was infuriating. She was absolutely thriving. And he hated to admit that she was right about not needing her magic…

–

Just like Douglas predicted, the snowstorm only worsened. People started coming in brushing flakes off their jackets and out of their hair. The sky was completely white, and every time she looked out of the window, the blanket of snow seemed to grow larger and larger against the wall.

She closed early, and thanked the powers above that she’d driven to work that day. By the time she made it home, cold and miserable, she had only one thing on her mind.

She unfolded the napkin and picked up the phone. It rang for a while, and she tapped her fingers against the wall as she waited. Just at the moment she thought she wasn’t going to get an answer, there was a click on the other side of the line.

“Uh- yeah, hello? Hold on, Holly, I won’t be long…”

She briefly wondered who Holly was, but then immediately decided not to dwell on it, however curious it made her. “Hey, is this… Douglas?”

“Douglas, huh? Sure, who’s askin’?” Before she could think to give an answer that would make sense to him, he seemed to click to something. “Wait, wait, I know who this is! Miss Retro, right? From this morning?”

“How did you guess?”

“Nobody actually calls me just Douglas. Everyone who phones in either gives my full name, Mr Keane, or… Duke. I left Douglas as a kinda calling card, so I’d know when you called.”

“Smart. So it’s… Duke, then?”

“Douglas feels weirdly formal now, y’know?” He chuckled, and she heard him take a seat. “I’m just Duke. That’s more than fine. What about you, huh? I walked out without getting your name…”

The way his voice sounded reminded her of someone she swore she used to know, but she couldn’t place it for the life of her. He was at once familiar and unknowable, and the only annoying part was that she couldn’t place where she’d heard a voice like his before. “Holloway. Marisa Holloway.” She’d never felt so nervous about giving her name before, and she didn’t even know why she felt like that. It was just a name!

“... Beautiful,” he muttered all the same, which did a little to relieve those weird nerves she was feeling over absolutely nothing. “Well, Marisa, how’s business looking? You must be pretty bored if you’re calling me before you close…”

“”I closed early,” she admitted, twirling the phone cord around her finger. “Otherwise, I’m about convinced that I would’ve never gotten out.”

Duke did have a brief moment where he stopped to question why she’d rang him from a landline if she was at home. Was this the number he was going to save for her? He supposed it would be a good idea, after all, she’d rang him, and if she’d wanted him to have another number- or a mobile- then she’d have called him from that, surely. “Probably for the best. They’re laying us off tomorrow, this thing shows no sign of stopping.” He sighed. “And, to think, we were in for a good run.”

The next day was exactly the same thing. Holloway managed to keep herself busy, but for most of the day, her mind was set on Douglas- on Duke. She didn’t know an awful lot about him, but that made him all the more fascinating. She planned on making it her mission to know as much about him as possible, and she had his number now too, so that was a mission that she chose to accept gladly.

By the time the storm died down, she'd figured out that he was the kind of person that she could find a real friend in, and had satiated her curiosity for long enough to finally ask about Holly. An ageing ginger cat was not on the list of things she expected, but she was rather pleasantly surprised to hear it.

The next time the two of them reconvened was the other side of the weekend, the Monday immediately after the storm. Duke trudged in through the diner door, kicking the remainder of the sludge off his boots. It wasn't as early as it had been last time, and the place was already half full of awaiting patrons. He found a spot on the barstools, and the moment she noticed him, she made her way over.

“Heya, Duke.” She smiled, lifting the hand that wasn't occupied in greeting.

“Hiya, Marisa!”

People called her by her name all the time. But, for some reason, when Duke did it, she felt her heart swell with delight.

#holloweane week #holloweaneweek #duke keane #miss holloway #starkid #void offering #writing this part two was so much fun!!#these two deserve more happy endings fr #holloweane week 2024 #holloweane week day 7

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